After winning the Democratic primary,[1] she won the 2013 special election to succeed Jesse Jackson Jr. in the U.S. House of Representatives.

[4] Hoping to become a child psychologist, she attended Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois,[3] where she was a member of Sigma Gamma Rho sorority.

[7] In January 2007, Kelly resigned her House seat to become chief of staff to Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias.

In the Democratic primary, she defeated founding member and senior executive of the Transportation Security Administration Justin Oberman, 58%–42%.

[12] Kelly entered the field for Illinois's 2nd congressional district after Democrat Jesse Jackson Jr. resigned three weeks after being elected to a tenth term.

[14] A few days later, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg endorsed her and committed $2 million in TV ads supporting her by highlighting Kelly's position on gun control.

[16][17] In the April 9 general election, she defeated Republican community activist Paul McKinley and a variety of independent candidates with around 71% of the vote.